Getty Josh Hart reacts during Game Five against the Indiana Pacers on May 14.
The New York Knicks‘ postseason run ended at the hands of the Indiana Pacers, who beat them in seven games in the Conference Semifinals.
They were subsequently swept by the Boston Celtics, who will play the Dallas Mavericks in the upcoming NBA Finals.
Josh Hart had a message for Tyrese Haliburton after he and the Pacers came up short. He revealed the details of their conversation on an episode “The Roommates Show” podcast.
“I think I said something like ‘(Expletive) y’all couldn’t get one win?” Hart said on the May 31 episode. “Y’all beat us Game 7. Y’all couldn’t get one win, after three leads in the fourth? Obviously if we moved on, JB wouldn’t be playing. I would have tried to play, I don’t know how I would have been. (Expletive) we coulda did that. At least get one.’”
Haliburton missed the final two games of the Boston series with a hamstring issue. He, like the Knicks in their series against Indiana, ultimately had to give way to severe injury.
Jalen Brunson left Game 7 against Indiana with what was later diagnosed as a fractured hand. Hart entered the game questionable to play with an abdomen injury.
It will be the talking point surrounding the 2023-2024 season for years to come. But if you’re asking any of the New York players who suffered those injuries, they’d rather it not be.
Brunson: ‘I Hate the Narrative’
By the time the playoffs ended, the Knicks were without all of OG Anunoby, Bojan Bogdanovic, Brunson, Julius Randle, and Mitchell Robinson.
But on the same episode of their podcast, Brunson argued that New York can’t have their cake and eat it to.
“The one thing I hated the most,” Brunson said. “Even though we were playing well.. whenever we lost, everyone was like ‘they’re tired’ or ‘they’re injured’… that pissed me off. We had chances to win that series and didn’t. We had a chance to go up 3-0 and we didn’t…I hate the narrative.”
New York beat the Philadelphia 76ers in six games without Anunoby, Bogdanovic, or Randle. So the idea that they would win a series against the Pacers, up 2-0, isn’t farfetched.
Whether or not fans will ever get a chance to see that lineup fully healthy is up in the air.
The first steps in that possibility becoming a reality are in progress though, with Randle’s rehab already begun.
Randle: ‘It’s Healing Up Great’
For the first time since New York’s second-round elimination loss to the Pacers, Randle offered an update on his rehab. He appeared as a guest on an alternate cast of Game 4 between Boston and Indiana.
“It’s healing up great,” Randle said on May 27. “I spent so much time rehabbing before. So when I came out of shoulder surgery, I was recovering pretty fast. A lot of my muscles around my shoulder are strong. I been healing up great. Been taking my time obviously, I’m not in a rush. But I like where I’m at for sure.”
The All-Star forward played just 46 games before being shut down with a shoulder injury.
As is apparent from his comments, he underwent a successful surgery and is on track to make a full recovery.
Randle averaged 24 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 5 assists in his fifth campaign with New York.
With the Celtics’ sweep over the Pacers, a majority of Knicks fans feel as if the team had a legitimate Finals bid if healthy.
Randle plays a bigger part in that than anyone, and if he’s back with New York for 2024-2025, he’ll give them a chance to prove it.
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